11/30/2011
Hello Fellow Celiacs
I thought I would write to you again about a post I did several months ago which is how to get gluten free items in the store that you usually shop in.
The way you would do this is go into the store that you usually shop in, go to customer service and ask who is in charge of your gluten free aisle to bring things into the store.
They may say you can only get new gluten free products by calling our corporate office, still ask for the name of the person in that department. then thank the customer service person that you were talking to and ask for the corporate number.
go to the department where the gluten free items are and search out that person. when you find him or her say I shop here all the time and love your store but I always have to shop at what ever store you get your product usually if it is by an online website tell them this informaiton. Let say the representative in the gluten free aisles name is Rich. You would say rich when I have to go and purchase something online it cost way more money if I can get it here. If I have to purchase it there it cuts into the money that I use to shop in your store so I am not able to get as much as I would like to in your department. Can you please if you can see about bringing in this product so that I do not have to cut into my pocketbook money that I usually spend in your store. If you belong to any Celiac Support Groups let them know about this tell them I have a lot of Celiac friends and they would love to shop here for their products and I wold be glad to tell them that you have it now.
In most cases they will flip to bring in the product if they can, you will need the name of the product and yu will need the bar code that is printed on the package for them to look it up for their particular ordering book. You will also need the company name.
In some instances you will have to go to the corporate number to get the product in. this sounds intimidating but it is really not. You just call the corporate number and say can you please giive me the name of the person that would be the buyer for your gluten free foods. Once you get the name ask to speak to that person.. when you get ahold of them say you would love to get this product into their store so that you do not have to go else where to get it. in most cases they will work with you.
the next step would be to call the customer service number on the package that you have and let them know that you are tring to get the product into what ever store you are trying to get into . tell them the name of the person you spoke to and where they are from and their telephone number. this way it works much faster. Your last step is to go to the person that you spoke with in the gluten free aisle. You go back to the person that we named rich in the beginning of our article. rich we spoke a week ago about getting in lets say my favorite bread Canyon Bake House Breads the San Juan Multi Grain Braead. I am Ellen do you remember me. Then say I have spoken to the Corporate office and they are working on bringing in the product is there any way we can work out a deal that you bring in a case and that I will go to you and get one loaf at a time and pay for it. . Some store will do this others will not. I know Michelle Long in Plymouth Meeting Giant Food Store will work with you . She is the head of the Gluten Free Department and she strives to help you out. Her telephone number is 610 941 5448 ask to speak to her and she will try to help you ..
I am working now on getting Canyon Bake House Breads into Bottom Dollar Foods. Bottom Dollar Foods do not have any gluten free items in their stores at all. When I first approached them when they first opened they said that they do not have the space to put it in. I waited until they were opened in our area for about a half of a year which is now then I went back to them spoke with the manager of the store. Since this is a small store you would go to the manager and ask about bringing in gluten free foods particularly a gluten free bread. They were more approachable. . I let them know that when I shop I love their stores but I have to stop and then go to their competitor Giant Food Stores and get my gluten free bread there which cuts into my time and money in their store. They said that they did not think about that way and they would make an effort to bring in the bread I wanted. I let them know that Canyon bake House Bread the San Juan Bread no one in this area . So they will not be competing for it but it is really an outstanding gluten free bread . Bottom Dollar Foods you do have to go through the corporate office. after speaking with the manager i went home and called the corporate office to bring it in. they are working on it now. It does take about 2 to 4 months for them to bring in a new product this is why I say to go back to the person Rich that we spoke earlier to and work with him to bring it in until it is in their store. What happens is that he will place it in his freezer and when you come in you go to him and tell him how many you want. He puts a code on it so he gets credit for his department and you get to know the price for the item. This is how I get products into stores it does take some work but it is worth it. .
The numbers for the Corporate office for some of the stores
I do not have Genuardi's number because there is a rumor out right now that Giant Food Stores will be buying most of them in the near future
Also one more tidbit there is a new virtual grocery store that is really great , they do not have many gluten free items but they are striving to bring in more. Their website is www.alice.com You have to put in a 50.00 order they will ship it to you in about three days and it is free shipping. If you put in the search bar the gluten free item that you would like they will either show you the item or say that there is 0 results for that particular item.
They will then direct you if they do not have to put in the information for them to bring it in. I usually then call the customer service number which is a 1800 number and tell them what item I would like into their data base for gluten free items and they are very accommodating..
Giant Food Stores Corporate Office Number 1 717 249 4000
Bottom Dolars Corporate Office Number 1 866 685 1180
Thank you
Ellen Gaffney
thegcats@comcast.net
.
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